Moving Day
by Danja
Summary: Roger moves into a new house ... a house with a past. FINAL CHAPTER UP! R
1. Chapter 1

**Moving Day**

**Chapter One**

* * *

"I still can't believe I got this house," said Roger as he opened the door to the empty living room. He stepped to one side, allowing Jeannie and Tony Jr. to enter.

"Two bedroom, one bath. Four hundred a month … _AND_ only two blocks from the beach!" Roger exclaimed happily.

"This would seem to be quite a find," said Jeannie. Today she wore blue jeans, sneakers, a white T-shirt, and a green leather jacket.

"Oh, don't I know it," said Roger. "Put down a deposit and first-and-last month's rent on it just today. Figured I'd grab it before someone else did."

"It is strange that a house like this is so cheap … _ESPECIALLY_ in this neighborhood," Jeannie continued.

"I'll leave you two alone," said Roger as he turned to leave. "I gotta go back to the Realtor and sign some more paperwork."

"We will be waiting," said Jeannie.

After Roger closed the door, Jeannie began to shiver -- the temperature in the room had suddenly dropped thirty degrees!

"Mom, are you all right?" Tony Jr. asked.

Jeannie shook her head … No. "Something is wrong," she said, her breath now showing in the freezing air.

"What do you mean?"

Jeannie put her hand against the wall. She suddenly jerked her hand away from the wall and said, "There is a _reason_ this house is so cheap.

"We are NOT alone," she said finally.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

* * *

"What do you mean?" Tony Jr. asked.

"There is a presence in this house," Jeannie replied. "An _EVIL_ presence."

Jeannie folded her arms in front of her, assumed a fighting posture, and called out to the room, "_SHOW YOURSELF!_ In the name of the Most High, I command you!"

All at once, the lights began flickering on and off. The cupboard doors in the kitchen began opening and closing by themselves. Tony Jr. stood behind Jeannie, bracing himself behind her.

A flickering mass of purple light suddenly appeared before Jeannie and Tony Jr.

Tony Jr. stared wide-eyed at the entity. _What the … ?_

Jeannie blinked. The entity was suddenly enveloped in a transparent magical orb.

"What_ IS_ that thing?" Tony Jr. asked.

"Whatever it is, it is extremely dangerous," Jeannie replied.

"What now?"

Jeannie turned to face Anthony. "Anthony, listen to me," she said solemnly. "I want you to leave the house. Do not come back in until I tell you to." _I will not risk my son being hurt by this … _thing_, _she thought.

"But …"

"GO! GO _NOW! _Do as I say!" commanded Jeannie. "I can only maintain the field for a few _minutes!_"

Tony Jr. nodded and ran out the front door. _Yes, Ma'am._

_Most High, help me,_ Jeannie prayed silently after Anthony had left the room.

"Who are you?" Jeannie shouted at the entity floating before her. "Why are you here?"

"You are a practitioner of The Art," said the entity in a deep, masculine voice.

"Yes," said Jeannie.

"If _I_ may ask, who … are _YOU?_", the entity inquired.

"Let us just say that you and I … are two halves of one dimension," Jeannie replied.

"Dost thou wish to know how I came to be here … from whence I came?" the entity asked.

"It matters not to me how you came to be in this house," said Jeannie sternly. "You are here … and you are not welcome."


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

* * *

"You and I have a great deal in common," said the glowing purple entity before Jeannie.

"Nothing could be further from the truth," replied Jeannie.

"Oh, I would beg to disagree," said the entity. "You and I are more alike than you realize."

"What could _I _possibly have in common with _YOU?_" Jeannie shot back. _Why am I _TALKING _to this thing?_

"We share a common nature, you and I," said the entity.

"Really, Jeannie … a being as powerful as yourself cooped up in suburbia? Married to a _mortal? _

"Surely _YOU_ can do better than _that_," the entity clucked with disapproval.

Jeannie cocked an eyebrow. "You know my name?"

"You have made quite a name for yourself … in the Other Realm," said the entity silkily. "That said, you have also made quite a _spectacle_ of yourself."

_I do not have to listen to this, _Jeannie thought. She then prayed silently, _Most High, help me. Grant me Your Strength, Your Wisdom, Your Magick … so that I may defeat the evil that is now before me._

* * *

"You must be the new neighbors!" said a feminine voice from behind Tony Jr.

Tony Jr. turned around to see a portly elderly lady walking up the driveway.

"I'm Vivian Yardley … I live across the street," said the lady as she extended a hand in greeting.

Tony Jr. shook Mrs. Yardley's hand and said, "Tony … Tony Nelson."

"Y'all movin' in?" Mrs. Yardley asked.

"Actually, me and my mom are helping a friend move," Tony Jr. replied. He then gestured towards the door of Roger's new house and asked, "Do you know anything about the people who used to live here?"

"Single mom, teenage daughter," Mrs. Yardley replied. She then dropped her voice to a conspiratorial whisper and added, "I've heard stories about the daughter."

"What kind of stories?" Tony Jr. asked, intrigued.

Mrs. Yardley looked around, taking care to see that no one was watching. "I heard the daughter was into devil worship," she said. "You know … the _Occult_."

"I see …"

"Girl was Goth as all get-out," said Mrs. Yardley. "Black hair, black fingernails, black lipstick … the whole nine yards."

_She must've tapped into something, _Tony Jr. thought. _Something_ BAD.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

* * *

"Join me, Jeannie," said the glowing purple entity. "Together, the world will be our oyster."

"I have no interest in conquest," said Jeannie. _I must not show fear,_ Jeannie thought, even as the butterflies were churning in her stomach. _I must be strong._

"Do you not feel _trapped_ by this disgusting … _mortal_ … existence of yours?"

"I have marched with Caesar and Napolean," Jeannie replied. "I have witnessed the rise and fall of empires.

"I know from experience that _ALL_ empires fall eventually," Jeannie concluded. "Conquest holds no appeal for me."

"You and I are of the same flesh!" the entity exclaimed, now clearly agitated.

"And that … is where the similarity between us _ends_," said Jeannie calmly.

"_DAMN YOU, JEANNIE!_" the entity roared. With that, the entity fired an energy ball at Jeannie's legs. Jeannie dematerialized just long enough to allow the ball to pass harmlessly through her body.

Jeannie pressed her hands together, as if in prayer. She then chanted an incantation in ancient Persian. All at once, the purple entity floating before her was enveloped in a column of blue light.

Before the entity could react, Jeannie blinked. The column and the entity vanished into thin air.

_That takes care of the entity, _Jeannie thought.

_The entity entered this house through a portal,_ Jeannie thought further. _I must find the portal and seal it._

Jeannie placed her hand on the living room wall and mouthed another incantation.

_Images of the entity and a strangely-dressed teenage girl sitting on the floor of her bedroom filled Jeannie's mind. The girl sat in darkness within a ring of lit votive candles._

_The girl was chanting in an ancient tongue that was unknown even to the equally ancient Jeannie. _

_The bedroom,_ Jeannie concluded. With that, Jeannie folded her arms in front of her, blinked and disappeared into thin air.

* * *

Outside, Tony Jr. watched as lights flickered from inside the house.

After a while, the flickering lights ceased.

_It's quiet, _Tony Jr. thought. _I'd better go check on Mom._

* * *

"Mom? Mom?" Tony Jr. cried as he made his way through the house, searching for Jeannie.

As he entered the bedroom, he was greeted by the sight of Jeannie lying passed out on the floor, unconscious.

"_MOM!_" Tony Jr. screamed as he rushed to the side of the fallen Jeannie. He shook her shoulder, trying to rouse her.

Jeannie stirred, opened her eyes, and looked around the room.

"Mom, are you all right?" Tony Jr. asked frantically.

"I am well, my son," Jeannie replied weakly, gasping for breath. "I am not injured."

Tony Jr. breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you're all right," he said.

Jeannie sat up. "The demon has been exorcised … and banished to whence he came," she said. "The house is now cleansed."

"You can _DO_ that?" Tony Jr. asked, raising his eyebrows.

"My mission is to serve and protect … you and your father," Jeannie replied calmly.

_My father … Her master, _Tony Jr. thought.

"I am trained to fight supernatural entities," Jeannie continued. "It is part and parcel of protecting the two of you.

"That said, it is an encounter that I neither seek out … nor desire," said Jeannie.

* * *

The front door opened. Roger entered the house and closed the door behind him, carrying a bag of groceries.

"Yoo Hoo! Anyone home?" Roger cried out to the empty living room.

* * *

"Uncle Roger…" Tony Jr. exclaimed.

Jeannie touched a finger to her lips, bidding Tony Jr. silent. _Not a word._ "We are in the bedroom, Colonel Healey," Jeannie called out from the bedroom.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" Roger asked as he entered the bedroom.

Jeannie stood up and brushed herself off. "It was nothing that we could not handle," she replied with an impish smile

THE END


End file.
